Tag: Zac Gallen

Zac Gallen had the hitter admittedly shocked after throwing a silly cut-changeup off the ump’s mask

Actually the craziest pitch of the season.

The Arizona Diamondbacks are off to a surprisingly hot start this season, and the excellent pitching from Zac Gallen is a huge reason why.

The right-hander recorded double-digit strikeouts for a second consecutive start, striking out 12 in 6.1 innings against the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday. But one pitch in particular stood out.

The Royals’ Vinnie Pasquantino had no problem admitting as much.

During the sixth inning, Gallen threw a 1-1 pitch to Pasquantino that must have been a mistake. The pitch — an 83.5 mph cut-changeup — seemingly had a mind of its own and evaded both Pasquantino’s bat and Jose Herrera’s glove on its way to umpire Edwin Jimenez’s mask.

You could see that Gallen was even surprised about what that pitch did as it was an obvious outlier in terms of movement for every other changeup he’s thrown.

Pasquantino ended up striking out in the at-bat, but after the game, he couldn’t stop thinking about that pitch. He called it the craziest pitch he had ever seen.

If a big-league hitter was confused with that pitch, just imagine how fans felt. It was mesmerizing.

Zac Gallen earns NL honors to start the season

Former UNC baseball standout Zac Gallen earned some National League honors for his two wins last week.

Former North Carolina baseball standout Zac Gallen has become a key piece for the Arizona Diamondbacks and the leader in the team’s rotation going into this year.

Gallen is fresh off a big 2022 campaign and now to start the 2023 season, Gallen is picking up some honors.

On Monday, Gallen was named the National League Player of the Week for his performance last week. He earned a win in both starts he pitched in last week, getting back on track after a loss in his opening day start in Los Angeles to begin the year.

Gallen did not allow a single run in either game, pitching 13.2 scoreless innings for the Diamondbacks, giving up five hits, one walk and striking out 18 batters.

Yankees starter Gerrit Cole was named the American League Player of the Week.

Gallen is 2-1 on the early season and has an ERA of 3.33 for the Diamondbacks. If he keeps this up, we should hear his name being mentioned with the NL Cy Young Award at season’s end.

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Zac Gallen gets Opening Day nod for Arizona Diamondbacks

Former Diamond Heels standout Zac Gallen gets the Opening Day start for the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2023.

Former North Carolina Tar Heels pitcher Zac Gallen broke out last season with the Arizona Diamondbacks, putting together an impressive season in 2022. Despite the Diamondbacks struggles out West, Gallen is a bright spot on the roster.

And he will get the Opening Day nod on Thursday.

Gallen has been tabbed as the starter for the first game of the 2023 season as the Diamondbacks will head to Los Angeles to face the Dodgers. The pitcher is at the top of the team’s rotation along with Merrill Kelly who pitched for team USA in the World Baseball Classic.

In 31 starts last season, Gallen went 12-4 with a 2.54 ERA and a WHIP of 0.91. He also had 192 strikeouts in 184.0 innings pitched.

While Gallen struggled a bit in the Spring, it’s not a shocker to see him get the Opening Day start to begin the season. This could be a big year for the former Diamond Heel in terms of taking a step forward in his career.

Last season, Gallen finished fifth in the NL Cy Young Award voting.

And he has the chance to get that started off in a big way against one of the best teams in the NL. He will oppose Julio Urias who gets the start for the Dodgers.

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Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Zac Gallen impresses once again

Former Tar Heel pitcher Zac Gallen took the mound Wednesday and had another fantastic night of pitching.

Former North Carolina Tar Heel pitcher [autotag]Zac Gallen[/autotag] was back on the mound Wednesday night for the Arizona Diamondbacks and added to his already impressive season.

Gallen has been a top pitcher this season, dominating batters left and right, even setting a franchise record for consecutive scoreless innings.

Wednesday night against the Houston Astros, Gallen pitched for seven innings, allowing two hits for an ERA of two. He also had six strikeouts while only walking one batter, helping Arizona beat Houston 5-2.

Gallen has worked the mound well this season. He has a winning record of 12-3, pitching 179 innings for a sixth-best 2.46 ERA.

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Pitcher Zac Gallen sets new record for Arizona Diamondbacks

Another day, another Tar Heel is making history as pitcher Zac Gallen enters his name in Arizona Diamondbacks history.

Arizona Diamondback pitcher [autotag]Zac Gallen [/autotag] has made history, setting a record for consecutive scoreless innings.

The former Tar Heel took the mound Sunday evening against the Colorado Rockies and set the record for 44.1 innings pitched without allowing a run here in 2022. Gallen has been dealing this season for Arizona, with a record of 12-2 and 7th best ERA of 2.50.

The New Jersey native hadn’t given up a run since August 8th against the Cleveland Guardians. The streak did end on Sunday, with Colorado scoring three runs in the fourth inning. However, Gallen was able to pitch his name into history before that inning, snapping former Diamondback pitcher Brandon Webb’s 15-year record.

Gallen spent three years at UNC as one of the top players in the nation. The right-handed pitcher as a Tar Heel last season was his most impressive, pitching 90.2 innings with an ERA of 2.68.

After that season, Gallen was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the third round of the 2016 draft, becoming one of the premier pitchers to watch.

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Zac Gallen off to terrific start for Arizona Diamondbacks

Former UNC baseball standout Zac Gallen has developed into a legit ace for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

When the Arizona Diamondbacks need to end a skid, the ball goes to starter [autotag]Zac Gallen[/autotag].

The former UNC standout delivered once again for the Diamondbacks on Thursday night as the team came away with a 3-1 win over the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. Gallen worked 5 innings, giving up 2 hits, 1 run, and just 3 walks while striking out 4 and earning the win. The lone run he gave up came in the fourth inning, shortly after the Diamondbacks scored three of their own in the top half.

The win moves Gallen to 3-0 on the year and his ERA sits at 1.14 in seven starts for the Diamondbacks. 

Gallen is in his fourth year in the league, starting out in the Miami farm system before being traded to Arizona where he’s spent the previous three seasons. Since arriving in Arizona, Gallen has developed into a legit ace for the Diamondbacks.

If he keeps this pace up, he could find himself in the NL Cy Young conversation moving forward.

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